Consumer Group Ruffles Mcdonald`s Feathers

September 26, 1985

A consumer group says the public deserves a break today from McDonald`s Corp. ads for Chicken McNuggets, but the hamburger giant counters that it does chicken right.

In a complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission Wednesday, the Washington-based Center for Science in the Public Interest disputes McDonald`s claims that its Chicken McNuggets contain only juicy chicken breasts and thighs. The group claimed McNuggets are also laced with fatty skin and grease from deep-frying.

McNonsense, says the burger giant. ``McNuggets has the highest possible quality chicken and has less skin than you would have if you bought a chicken from your grocery store,`` said Richard Starmann, a vice president at McDonald`s headquarters in west suburban Oak Brook. ``As far as we know, they are not challenging the quality of the chicken.``

The consumer group accused the restaurant chain of ``false and misleading advertising`` and asked the FTC to halt the new spots. An FTC spokesman said the complaint would be reviewed.

The center, a nonprofit group that tracks health and consumer concerns, said a serving of six Chicken McNuggets contains as much fat as two McDonald`s hamburgers.

The center said McNuggets contain chicken skin and are fried in a highly saturated beef fat-based shortening. Bruce Silverglade, the center`s legal director, said McDonald`s uses the same type of shortening for its french fries, but said the consumer group only goes after one category at a time.

``The larger question is whether restaurants should disclose their ingredients the way food companies do,`` he said.

He said the center had not conducted any independent testing on the food and based its complaint on information submitted by company officials in response to the center`s inquiries.